Video segment manager

ABSTRACT

A method includes identifying a plurality of user-interested multimedia files based at on one of a history of a plurality of user multimedia searches, a plurality of user multimedia views, or a history of multimedia sharing with other users. The method creates a catalog of the plurality of user-interested multimedia files, wherein the catalog includes one of more groups of the plurality of multimedia files based on one of a multimedia file length, the history of the plurality of user multimedia searches, the plurality of user multimedia views, or a history of multimedia shares with other users. The method generates a novel multimedia file, where combining one generates the novel multimedia file or more individual multimedia files selected from the catalog of multimedia files.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of video content,and more particularly to the editing and sharing of video content.

Video segment manipulation and video segment sharing accounts for muchof the activity performed by a user on social media. Typically, socialmedia users view or share a video with other users. Social media usersmanipulate videos to create a new video or to combine those videos withvideos created by other users.

With the spread of broadband Internet access, video segments have becomevery popular online. Whereas most of this content is non-exclusive andavailable on competing sites, some companies produce all their ownvideos and do not rely on the work of outside companies or amateurs.Some video segments are taken from established media sources. Communityor individually produced video segments account for many video segmentson the Internet.

The growing number of mobile device users that utilize smartphones hasallowed for an increase in the number of mobile device users that havenear immediate access to content on the Internet. Particularly, videocontent has become a center point for obtaining and sharing informationbetween users. That information can include video content pertaining tonews events or entertainment. Social media websites have become anoutlet for a user to view a particular video and share the particularvideo with another user. Additionally, social media websites have becomea medium for a user to be able to view a particular video, performchanges to the particular video, and share the particular video, withthe performed changes, with other users.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention include a method, computer programproduct, and computer system for editing and sharing of video content.

A computer-implemented method includes identifying, by one or moreprocessors, a plurality of user-interested multimedia files based atleast on one of: a history of a plurality of user multimedia searches, aplurality of user multimedia views, or a history of multimedia sharingwith other users; creating, by one or more processors, a catalog of theplurality of user-interested multimedia files, wherein the catalogincludes one of more groups of the plurality of multimedia files basedat least on one of: multimedia file length, the history of the pluralityof user multimedia searches, the plurality of use multimedia views, or ahistory of multimedia shares with other users; and generating, by one ofmore processes, a novel multimedia file, wherein the novel multimediafile is generated by combining one or more individual multimedia filesselected from the catalog of multimedia files.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributed dataprocessing environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting operational steps of a video contentmanager program 108A for analyzing a video and providing segmentedportions of the video based on user preferences executing on a servercomputer within the distributed data processing environment of FIG. 1,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the video content manager programcreating a catalog of video files, operating on a client device withinthe distributed data processing environment of FIG. 1 (e.g., asmartphone), modifying one or more video segments on the client device,in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components of a computer system, such asthe server computer of FIG. 1, in an embodiment in accordance with thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments, in accordance with the present invention, will nowbe described in detail with reference to the Figures. FIG. 1 is afunctional block diagram, generally designated 100, illustrating adistributed data processing environment. Distributed data processingenvironment 100 includes server computer 102, and client device 104, allinterconnected over network 106.

Server computer 102 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet computer, a specialized computer server, a smartphone, or anyother computer system known in the art. In certain embodiments, servercomputer 102 represents a computer system utilizing clustered computersand components that act as a single pool of seamless resources whenaccessed through network 106, as is common in data centers and withcloud computing applications. In general, server computer 102 isrepresentative of any programmable electronic device or combination ofprogrammable electronic devices capable of executing machine-readableprogram instructions and communicating with other computer devices via anetwork. In one embodiment, server computer 102 includes video contentmanager program 108A, similarity analyzer 110, video order module 112,video edit module 114, storage 116, video files 118, user profiles 120,service profiles 122, accessible by client device 104, and any otherelectronic devices not illustrated in FIG. 1, via network 106.

Client device 104 may be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbookcomputer, personal computer (PC), personal digital assistant (PDA),smartphone, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, personal fitness device,personal safety device), or any programmable computer system known inthe art with an interactive display. Client device 104 includes videocontent manager program 108B and user interface 124. In general, clientdevice 104 is representative of any programmable electronic device orcombination of programmable electronic devices capable of executingmachine-readable program instructions and communicating with users ofother electronic devices via network 106. Client device 104 may alsoinclude various programs not illustrated in FIG. 1. The various programson client device 104 include a web browser, an electronic mail client,security software (e.g., a firewall program, a geo-locating program, anencryption program, etc.), an instant messaging (IM) application (app),and a communication (e.g., phone) application.

In one embodiment, video content manager program 108A operates on servercomputer 102. In another embodiment, video content manager program 108Boperates in a client-side based setting, for example on client device104. In yet another embodiment, video content manager program 108Aoperates on server computer 102 simultaneously with video contentmanager program 108B operating on client device 104. Video contentmanager program 108A provides the capability to search for, detect,analyze, and share a video, or multimedia, segment for a user of clientdevice 104 and provide the user of client device 104 with an orderedpresentation of the individual video, or multimedia, segments. Videocontent manager program 108A can receive user preferences for analyzingvideos or multimedia of interest to the user. Video content managerprogram 108A stores the user preferences in the form of a user profilefor the user of client device 104 among user profiles 120. Video contentmanager program 108A can search for, detect, share, and determine whenthe user of client device 104 is being presented with a video anddetermine the segmented order, and relevance of each segment to the userbased on the user preferences. Video content manager program 108Adisplays the segmented video with a determined beginning and end of thesegmented video of interest to the user. Video content manager program108A can modify the video segments and reorder the video segments basedon user preferences. Subsequently, video content manager program 108Acan share the modified video segments with another receiver or a groupof receivers (i.e., users) after reordering the video segment consistentwith the original user preferences.

In one embodiment, video content manager program 108A has the ability toanalyze video similarities, and data of the presented video segments, todetermine whether redundant video segments and quality of the data canbe filtered out of the ordered segments that will be presented to theuser. In this embodiment, video content manager program 108A modifiesand presents the reordered video segments based on the user preferencesselected for redundancy of video segments and data quality. Through thefunctions of similarity analyzer 110, video order module 112, video editmodule 114, and storage 116, video content manager program 108A utilizesthe video segment history, and user preferences to analyze the video.Similarity analyzer 110 performs the operation, as a function of videocontent manager program 108A, of analyzing returned video segmentsimilarities and video segment quality. Similarity analyzer 110 filtersout low-quality video segments, redundant video segments, and helpsgroup together video segments with similar video content. Video ordermodule 112 performs the operation, as a function of video contentmanager program 108A, of receiving the returned video segments, orderingthe returned video segments that video content manager program 108Amodified, and then connecting the video files together in a new seamlessvideo segment. Video content manager program 108A connects the videosegments based on user preferences. Video edit module 114 performs theoperation, as a function of video content manager program 108A, ofreordering the video segments into groups based on user preferences.Video edit module 114 sends the video segment groups to designatedusers. Video files 118 are encoded and stored video data that may be acatalogue of video segments saved in frames, groups of similar videosegments, single video segment file, or permutations of video segmentsat various stages of the ordering and reordering process of videocontent manager program 108A.

User profiles 120 includes personal data associated with a specificuser. User profile 120 is the profile for saving user personalcharacteristics, preference records, and personal searching history.Service profiles 122 is a profile for saving remix rules, search engineconfiguration, user-interested video segment rating rules, and factorsfor ordering and reordering video segments. This data is stored instorage 116 and used by video content manager program 108A toautomatically select video segments during a keyword search process, andto order and reorder selected video segments. In addition, video contentmanager program 108A incorporates the stored information when providingrecommendations for action.

In general, network 106 can be any combination of connections andprotocols that will support communications among server computer 102 andclient device 104. Network 106 can include, for example, a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, acellular network, or any combination of the preceding, and can furtherinclude wired, wireless, and/or fiber optic connections. In oneembodiment, video content manager program 108A can be a web serviceaccessible via network 106 to a user of client device 104. In anotherembodiment, video content manager program 108A may be operated directlyby a user of server computer 102.

Storage 116, a database, located on server computer 102, represents anytype of storage device capable of storing data that is accessed andutilized by video content manager program 108A. In other embodiments,storage 116 represents multiple storage devices within server computer102. Storage 116 stores information such as, but not limited to, accountinformation, credentials for authentication, user preferences, lists ofpreferred users, previously analyzed videos, previously segmentedvideos, popular video segments, and frequently watched videos that havebeen modified by video content manager program 108A.

In one embodiment, a user of client device 104 can interact with userinterface 124 through a touch screen that performs as both an inputdevice to a graphical user interface (GUI) and as an output device(i.e., an electronic display) presenting a plurality of icons associatedwith software applications or images depicting the executing softwareapplication. Optionally, a software application (e.g., a web browser)can generate user interface 124 operating within the GUI of clientdevice 104. User interface 124 accepts input from a plurality ofinput/output (I/O) devices including, but not limited to, a tactilesensor interface (e.g., a touch screen or a touchpad) referred to as amulti-touch display. An I/O device interfacing with user interface 124may be connected to client device 104, which may operate utilizing wired(e.g., USB port) or wireless network communications (e.g., infrared,NFC, etc.). Client device 104 may include components, as depicted anddescribed in further detail with respect to FIG. 4, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart, generally designated 200, depicting operationalsteps of video content manager program 108A for analyzing a video andproviding segmented portions of the video based on user preferences, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Video content manager program 108A retrieves input of a user profile(202). In one embodiment, video content manager program 108A retrievesuser preferences, via user profile 120, and service preferences, viaservice profile 122, which include but are not limited to, video searchengine configuration, rating of interested videos and video segments,tagging preferences for ordering and reordering video segments, personalcharacteristics, preference records, and personal search histories.Video content manager program 108A stores the user preferencesassociated with a user profile in storage 116. Video content managerprogram 108A can receive a user name (i.e., account information)associated with an account, along with password (i.e., credentials)associated with existing user profile. Upon authentication of thecredentials for the received account information, video content managerprogram 108A can prompt the user to update new preferences onuser-defined video interests. Additionally, video content manger program108A can prompt the user to specify new video topics of interest ordelete older video topics that video content manager program 108Amaintains in storage 116.

Video content manager program 108A selects user-interested multimediafiles (204). In one embodiment, video content manager program 108Agenerates a function, via a software as a service (SaaS) applicationprogram interface (API) video search engine, to automatically searchfor, and select, video frames and video files which match user viewinghistory, and user profile interested video portions based on the name ofa person, such as a celebrity or movie star. For example, video contentmanager program 108A searches videos scanned from the Internet based onthe history of the user watching videos. Video content manger program108A determines whether any of the scanned video file names, titles,video frames, video segments, subtitles in videos, or audio soundsinterest the user. In an example, video content manager program 108Adetermines that a user has watched more than 15 different videos, overthe course of a month, where a particular actor was present. Videocontent manager program 108A determines that the user is interested inthe particular actor and utilizes this information to determine videosof interest to the user in future searches.

In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A determines auser is interested in a particular aspect of a video based upon a useraction of repeatedly watching a specific portion of the video segment.Video content manager program 108A analyzes the aspects of the video,such as subtitles, the nature of conversations in the video, charactersin the video, background color, and objects in the video. Video contentmanager program 108A incorporates this information and integrates thisdata in future searches for user-interested multimedia files.

In one embodiment, video content manager program 108A generates afunction, via a SaaS API video search engine, to search multiplekeywords of user metadata based upon previously inputted keywords. Forexample, video content manager program 108A searches descriptions instored data of Short Message Service (SMS) text messages, social mediamessaging services, audio files, images, and video sharing history tosearch for, and select, user interested video content. For example,video content manager program 108A scans user video sharing history inorder to learn past videos of interest to the user. Video contentmanager program 108A uses the archive of past videos of interest to theuser to formulate and suggest new videos of interest to the user. In anexample, a user sends multiple SMS text messages including selectedvideo segments of a football game to another user. Video content managerprogram 108A determines that the user is interested in the footballteams present in the video, and the football players that arepredominantly depicted in the video segment. In this example, videocontent manager program 108A further determines that the user andrecipient are interested in video segments that involve certain aspectsof the football game.

Video content manager program 108A generates a searchable index ofmultimedia files from the search (206). In one embodiment video contentmanager program 108A returns all related video files, with start and endpositions of the videos in the video files, associated with theuser-preference settings. For example, video content manager program108A presents the user with 5 different video segments that are groupedtogether. This grouping of video files of varying lengths is asearchable index. In an embodiment, video content manager program 108Atags each video frame of interest to the user based upon userpreferences. For example, based upon user preferences, video contentmanager program 108A tags each video frame that has the presence of anactor, and assigns the video frames a rating based upon the presence, orabsence, or frequency of appearance of the actor in the video frame. Inanother embodiment, video content manager program 108A determines avideo frame grouping according to background lighting in the frame. Inanother example, video content manager program 108A associates frames ofthe video that take place in outer space in the video file of a movie,and matches the video frames segment by segment, irrespective of theoriginal order of the video, in a searchable index. Video contentmanager program 108A deconstructs the returned video file into segmentsaccording to user preference and presents them in a frame by frameorder.

In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A, using videoframe metadata, breaks the video segments into individual video framesbased upon time of appearance in the video, the background color of thevideo, the background music in the video, or the characters in thevideo. For example, video content manager program 108A creates asearchable index of video segments using time as the basis fordeconstructing the video, in two-second intervals for a two-minutevideo, based on user preferences. Video content manager program 108Acreates an index of 60 video frames, in two-second intervals, from areturned video file segment. In addition, video content manager program108A may present the user with the option to view the video frames,further subdivided, into 120, one-second frame intervals. Video contentmanager program 108A may present the additional viewing option in a sideby side manner for the user to compare the 120 video frame intervalindex to the 60 video frame interval index. In another embodiment, auser presented with the video frame subdivision by video content managerprogram 108A may query video content manager program 108A to condensethe video frames into a smaller index of video frames. For example,video content manager program 108A, based on a query by the user, maychange the video frame interval from two seconds to five seconds. Thetotal number of video frames presented by video content manager program108A changes from 60 frames in total, to 24 frames in total for atwo-minute video.

Video content manager program 108A analyzes the returned multimediafiles for redundancy and data integrity (208). In an embodiment, videomanager program 108A analyzes the returned video files for redundancy,and the criterion of the data. For example, video content managerprogram 108A analyzes the returned, deconstructed video file anddetermines that several of the video segments present identical frames.In a deconstructed two-minute video frame, video content manager program108A determines that from the 30-second mark to the 35-second mark, thevideo frames are identical (i.e., redundant) in presenting the samebackground in the video. Video content manager program 108A, via thefunction of similarity analyzer 110, determines that the segments of thevideo are redundant and video content manager program 108A deletes themfrom the index of video frames that have been expanded from videosegments. In the embodiment, video content manager program 108Adetermines that the video frames present the same character in the sameposition over the course of a 15-second interval. In this embodiment,video content manager program 108A determines that the multiple videoframes can be condensed into one frame instead of the many frames, viasimilarity analyzer 110, spaced over the 15-second interval because anidentical character in the video is in the same position in the videoframe over the course of the video interval for 15 seconds.

In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A determinesthat none of the video frames are redundant, but the quality of the datadistorts the presented video frame. In this embodiment, video contentmanager program 108A deletes the distorted video frame, via similarityanalyzer 110, because the quality of the data does not meet a qualitythreshold. In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A,via similarity analyzer 110, determines that some of the video framesover the course of a pre-defined time interval are a combination ofbeing redundant, and of low quality, or some of the video frames are lowquality, or some of the video frames in the time interval are redundant.In an embodiment, video content manager program 108A, via similarityanalyzer 110, deletes the individual video frames that are of lowquality and redundant, and simultaneously condenses the redundant videoframes into one frame.

Video content manager program 108A orders the returned individualmultimedia frames based on user preferences (210). In one embodiment,video content manager program 108A constructs individual video segments,via video order module 112, based upon user preferences. For example,video content manager program 108A, via video order module 112, mayconstruct a novel video segment, from individual video frames, accordingto preferences, such as interest rating, video quality, backgroundcolor, or time line. Video content manager program 108A, via video ordermodule 112, constructs a new video segment based upon video frameordering, according to a ranking that video content manager program 108Aassigned to the individual video frame, based upon user preferences. Forexample, video content manager program 108A determines that the user isparticularly interested in video frames where an actor is present forthree seconds. Video content manager program 108A ranks the frames on ascale of 1 to 10 based upon the presence of an actor, and the rankingsystem is scored based upon the length of time that the actor ispresent. A frame with a top ranking of one indicates that the actor ispresent the longest in comparison to the other frames. Video contentmanager program 108A constructs a new set of video frames, constitutinga novel video segment, according to this ranking, irrespective of theorder that each frame was presented in the original video. In anotherembodiment, video content manager program 108A constructs a video framepresentation in designated intervals according to user preference. Forexample, video content manager program 108A constructs the video framessuch that there are five, one-minute video segments of the originalvideo file that is ten minutes in duration.

Video content manager program 108A presents a novel seamless multimediafile, and a catalog of novel multimedia frame files to the user (212).In an embodiment, video content manager program 108A, via video ordermodule 112, presents a new seamless video to the user and a catalog ofindividual video frames that have similar clips. In an example, videocontent manager program 108A presents the user the newly constructedvideo in a single and seamless video file. In addition, video contentprogram 108A presents the user a catalog of a group of unique videosegments that share similar video frames with the new video file. Thecatalog of additional videos can be of different lengths, from differentusers, in unique orientations. Video content manager program 108Apresents the user videos that were previously constructed by otherusers, according to user preferences, that share similar video segmentsto the new video file created by video content manager program 108A. Inanother embodiment, video content manager program 108A reviews theadditional videos and compares the videos for dissimilar content, basedon user preferences, which may be of interest to the user. For example,video content manager program 108A analyzes the catalog of video clipsand based upon the history of a user watching videos, determines aparticular segment of a video file may be of interest to the user. Theuser may add one or more files from the catalog of individual videoframes. In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A maypresent the user with just a novel, seamless video. In this example,video content manager program 108A does not present the user with anycatalog of related video frames according to user preference.

In another embodiment, video content manager program 108A can query theuser to add video frames of interest to create a new seamless videosegment from the catalog of video files presented to the user. The userhas the ability to accept or reject the request to add the video framesfrom the catalog of videos. In another embodiment, video content managerprogram 108A automatically adds video frames of interest from thecatalog of additional videos based upon user preferences that rank anaspect of the video frame as important. For example, video contentmanager program 108A determines that the presence of a scene in a movieis of importance to the user because of how rare scenes from this movieare in other user videos. Video content manager program 108A combinesthe video frame from the catalog of video files, based upon userpreferences, to the newly created seamless video file.

Video content manager program 108A shares the video file (214). In oneembodiment, video content manager program 108A shares the video with adesignated group of users, based on user preferences, via a function ofvideo edit module 114. In this embodiment, video content manager program108A shares the new video file with a group of users that video contentmanager program 108A determines have shared interests based upon a videosharing history of the group of users. For example, video contentmanager program 108A, via video edit module 114, determines that aparticular user shares similar interest to another user based upon thefrequency of video files shared and the content of the video files theparticular user shares. As a result, video content manager program 108Ashares the video with the particular user. In another embodiment, videocontent manager program 108A determines that it should not share thevideo because of the nature of the content in the video. For example,video content manager program 108A, via video edit module 114, analyzesthe content of the newly created video file and determines that sharingthe newly created video file would result in the user violating severalinternational copyright laws.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of video content manager program 108Bcreating a catalog of video files, operating on client device 104 (e.g.,a smartphone), modifying one or more video segments on client device104, in accordance with the present invention.

In the depicted embodiment, video content manager program 108B retrievesa user profile with corresponding user preferences and selectsuser-interested video portions by searching and collecting a grouping,or catalog, of video segments 304 from the Internet in process 302.Video segments 304 represent a catalog of individual video segments,constructed of multiple individual video frames 306. The number of videosegments that video content manager program 108B searches and the numberof video frames comprising each video segment is specified in the userpreferences that video content manager program 108B receives. Videoframe 306 represents an individual unit of a video segment that can beany length (e.g., 0.5 seconds), according to user preferences. Inprocess 308, video content manager program 108B tags or designates,individual video frames 316 of interest to the user across the catalogof video segments 304 according to user preferences. In one embodiment,video content manager program 108B tags, or designates, individual videoframes 316 of interest based upon user preferences for selectingindividual video frames for truncating from their original videosegments and re-cataloging the video frames. Video content managerprogram 108B extracts information from the catalog of video segments 304and the selected individual video frames 316 to determine a video frameboundary to truncate the individual video frames based upon userpreferences received by video content manager program 108B.

In process 310, video content manager program 108B compares the selectedindividual video frames 316 and catalog of video segments 304 through acomparison algorithm generated based upon user preferences, forsupporting a similarity analysis of a video segment grouping andindividual video frames 316 within the video segment catalog. In process312, video content manager program 108B catalogs the selected individualvideo segments 316 based upon calculated video segment and video framecharacteristics determined by video content manager program 108B. Inprocess 312, video content manager program 108B automatically catalogsthe individual video frames 316 based upon cataloging rules determinedby video content manager program 108B that are a function of userpreferences. Video content manager program 108B calculates thesimilarity of the different video segments, and the video framesaccording to the aspects of the catalog of video segments, and videoframes that were selected by video content manager program 108B. Videocontent manager program 108B creates a novel catalog of video segmentsutilizing selected video frames 314 out of individual video frames 316cataloged from various points in the original video segment. In oneembodiment, video content manager program 108B creates a new layout ofvideo frames from the original truncated and collected video segments.Video content manager program 108B creates a new catalog of the selectedvideo frames 314 based upon start and end parameters that weredetermined by video content manager program 108B.

FIG. 4 depicts computer system 400, where computer system 400 representsa computer system in distributed data processing environment 100. Servercomputer 102 represents an example of a computer system in distributeddata processing environment 100, where server computer 102 includesvideo content manager program 108A. Computer system 400 includesprocessors 404, cache 416, memory 406, persistent storage 408,communications unit 410, input/output (I/O) interface(s) 412 andcommunications fabric 402. Communications fabric 404 providescommunications between cache 416, memory 406, persistent storage 408,communications unit 410, and input/output (I/O) interface(s) 412.Communications fabric 402 can be implemented with any architecturedesigned for passing data and/or control information between processors(such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.),system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware componentswithin a system. For example, communications fabric 402 can beimplemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch.

Memory 406 and persistent storage 408 are computer readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 406 includes random access memory(RAM). In general, memory 406 can include any suitable volatile ornon-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache 416 is a fast memorythat enhances the performance of processors 404 by holding recentlyaccessed data, and data near recently accessed data, from memory 406.

Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of thepresent invention may be stored in persistent storage 408 and in memory406 for execution by one or more of the respective processors 404 viacache 416. In an embodiment, persistent storage 408 includes a magnetichard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard diskdrive, persistent storage 408 can include a solid state hard drive, asemiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any othercomputer readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 408 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 408.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage408.

Communications unit 410, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices. In these examples,communications unit 410 includes one or more network interface cards.Communications unit 410 may provide communications through the use ofeither or both physical and wireless communications links. Programinstructions and data used to practice embodiments of the presentinvention may be downloaded to persistent storage 408 throughcommunications unit 410.

I/O interface(s) 412 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to each computer system. For example, I/Ointerface 412 may provide a connection to external devices 418 such as akeyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable inputdevice. External devices 418 can also include portable computer readablestorage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical ormagnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practiceembodiments of the present invention can be stored on such portablecomputer readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistentstorage 408 via I/O interface(s) 412. I/O interface(s) 412 also connectto display 420.

Display 420 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: identifying, by one or moreprocessors, a plurality of multimedia files that are of interest to auser based on historical activity of the user viewing multimedia files,wherein multimedia files of interest are determined based on metadatastored on one or more databases; determining, by one or more processors,a ranking of individual multimedia files within the plurality ofmultimedia files that are of interest to the user based upon analgorithm for generating a novel multimedia file, wherein determiningfurther comprises using a criterion for each of the plurality of theuser interested multimedia files; creating, by one or more processors, acatalog of the identified plurality of multimedia files that are ofinterest to the user, wherein the catalog includes the identifiedplurality of multimedia files organized into one or more groups ofmultimedia files based on user preferences and characteristics of themultimedia files; analyzing, by one or more processors, a plurality ofcatalogs that include multimedia files that are of interest to the userbased upon an algorithm, wherein the plurality of catalogs includes thecreated catalog of the identified plurality of multimedia files that areof interest to the user; selecting, by one or more processors, one ormore multimedia file segments from the catalog of the identifiedplurality of multimedia files that are of interest to the user;responsive to receiving, from the user, a selection of one or moremultimedia file frames from the plurality of catalogs that includemultimedia files that are of interest to the user, determining, by oneor more processors, a similarity value for the selected one or moremultimedia file frames according to the algorithm; generating, by one ofmore processors, the novel multimedia file, wherein the novel multimediafile is generated by combining the selected one or more multimedia filesegments; sending, by one or more processors, the one or more novelmultimedia file frames to another user; determining, by one or moreprocessors, an order for the plurality of multimedia files that are ofinterest to the user according to user preferences associated with theuser, wherein the user preferences dictate a truncation of userinterested multimedia file frames comprising the plurality of multimediafiles that are of interest to the user; truncating, by one or moreprocessors, a user interested multimedia file according to userpreferences, displaying, by one or more processors, the truncated userinterested multimedia file frames, wherein displaying further comprisespresenting a searchable index of a plurality of novel multimedia files;responsive to displaying the novel multimedia file, identifying, by oneor more processors, one or more novel multimedia file frames included inthe novel multimedia file of interest to the user; sending, by one ormore processors, the one or more novel multimedia file frames to anotheruser; and updating, by one or more processors, user preferencesinformation of an inputted keyword by the user, a description in one ofthe plurality of user interested multimedia files, and a user profileassociated with the user in another application.